Councilor Rex Rolfing during the Council's meeting Tuesday, Dec. 5 asked his colleagues not to use his city email and phone number when communicating with the "general public."

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Rex Rolfing, a Sioux Falls City Council Member, speaks during a Sioux Falls City Council Installation Ceremony Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at the Carnegie Town Hall in downtown Sioux Falls. (Photo: Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)Buy Photo

Councilor Rolfing voiced his displeasure with that this week before the Council ultimately signed off on the $50 million project.

"This has happened a number of times now and I would respectfully ask my colleague at the end of the dais to not use my name or email address on anything she sends out to the general public," he said. "It infers that I support what she has put on that card or newspaper or whatever, and many times I do not."

Rolfing's right. The parking ramp mailer wasn't the first time Stehly publicized the names of her colleagues in her public outreach efforts. Last spring she listed all councilors and their contact information on flyers she hand-delivered to property owners alerting them of a task force formed to study annexation. And in September, she sent a newsletter to 10,000 households with the same information listed inside.

Stehly said she consulted with the City Attorney's Office before distributing the annexation flyer and was told there was no trouble in sharing city-provided email addresses and phone numbers with the public. And she doesn't plan on adhering to Rolfing's request to stop.

"His name and his phone number are public record. I’ll write them on the inside of a bathroom stall if I want to," Stehly said later. "That’s what we signed up for."